Every Incredible Second of the “Pearl Jam Twenty” Trailer

by
John Reynolds
on August 15, 2011

Two minutes and thirty-seven seconds, that’s the length of the trailer for “Pearl Jam Twenty”, written and directed by Cameron Crowe. It’s not quite as long as 1 hr 49 min, the assumed length of the movie. And it’s definitely longer than the 30s tease we got earlier in the year. If for some reason you haven’t seen it yet, check out the official trailer below.

When we heard that over 1200 hours of Pearl Jam footage was whittled down for the movie, it made us realize how special every clip is, no matter how small.

After almost too many views to admit, some really great features of the trailer started to emerge. The great choice of music. Rhythm. Parallels to the lyrics. Pace. Color. Frenzy. Calm.

All this in just two minutes and thirty-seven seconds. Since we think these seconds are so special, let’s take a look at every single one.

00:00 Black Frame starts the visual00:01 Audio fades in with the static hiss of vinyl when the needle hits the lead-in grooves00:02“Eddie, so good to talk to ya … “ the voice of David Lynch00:03 The logo for Vinyl Films appears\00:04 We see David Lynch sitting in a black sportcoat and buttoned white dress shirt.00:05 This interview was held in April 2009 at Pearl Jam’s headquarters.00:06 Over two minutes of theinterview was broadcast here on “David Lynch TV”00:07“… and i ask everybody this thing”00:08“umm…”00:09“…”00:10“umm…”00:11 Eddie Vedder appears, patiently listening to the question being asked.00:12 Ed’s wearing a flannel covering a blue shirt.00:13 Appearing a little out of breath, the dangling in-ear monitors indicate he had just performed00:14 Back to David Lynch00:15 “When was it that… ummm”00:16 “How old were you and where were you that …”00:17 “umm …” 00:18 “music started, you know, to be the thing for ya”00:19 Back to Eddie Vedder smiling.00:20 Contemplating00:21 “Given To Fly”, Pearl Jam’s first single from Yield starts00:22 Ed takes a deep breath00:23 Mike McCready’s riff provides a nice transition.00:24 Pearl Jam is shot from the top of a stairwell entering at the bottom00:25 From a 2006 photo shoot, Eddie, Jeff, Mike, Stone and Matt jump in.00:26 Eddie, with suitcase in tow approaches one lane of the stairwell divided by a handrail…00:27 … jumping to the other lane at the last minute.00:28 Fuzzy video of the band driving in Washington state from the driver’s perspective.00:29 The first live footage appears with Jeff and Mike shot from stage right00:30 In black-and-white slow motion, Jeff and Stone, both shirtless, rocking hard00:31 Next shot is super close-up of Jeff playing live in a black ski hat00:32 Again black-and-white and slow motion, all this from Sept 25-26, 1992 Honolulu, HI00:33 Upward view of Stone playing live in 199100:34 Again black-and-white and slow motion. Sense a theme here?00:35 As the first verse of “Given To Fly” starts, camera zooms in on Ed about to take a jump00:36 “Coulda tuned in, tuned in, but he tuned out / A bad time, nothing could save him”00:37 Camera pans back and Ed falls in slow motion00:38 Down …00:39 Down …00:40 Moore Theater marquee from the Jan. 17, 1992 show, notable for Even Flow video footage00:41 From an interview, Ed’s voice overlays him with fans under the marquee.00:42 “When you sit in your room playing guitar…”00:43 “You don’t have to worry about being successful”00:44 “It’s not gonna happen. it’s just not gonna happen”00:45Camcorder footage (0:45) of Ed air-drumming during a backstage rehearsal, 8/16/92 Darien, PA00:46 Footage from Pearl Jam’s storied show at Albini Bar, Switzerlad00:47 With acoustic instruments, this show was a prelude to their MTV Unplugged show a month later00:48 Second verse of “Given To Fly” starts00:49 “Alone in a corridor, waiting, locked out”00:50 Back to the driving footage, shot of “90 East – Spokane” sign00:51 Ed driving, nodding his head to the beat00:52 Footage from the Jeremy video filmed by Mark Pellington00:53 Ed in his trademark 1992 gold t-shirt approaches the screen00:54 with a marker draws a spiral on a transparent board00:55“He got up from there …”00:56“ran for hundreds of miles”00:57 In a pit crowd, some is holding up a “STONE” sign00:58 Overhead view of huge raging pit, with a lone crowdsurfer in the middle00:59 Jeff reading recumbent on a train or bus, Nike’s up on the seat opposite him01:00 Ed in a black shirt, riding casually in the front of a boat in Southeast Asia01:01 Stone audio ovelays: “It’s kinda an unlikely group of people to be playing together”01:02 Live footage from early 1991. Jeff / Stone jamming, Passive Ed in a … suitcoat?01:03 “Made it to the ocean, had a smoke in a tree”01:04 Jeff playing live in either late 1991 or early 199201:05 From the pit, rocking the 12-string Hamer bass, black tank top, big hat, action figures on amps01:06 Ed filming at the camera with his own Super 8 camera, burning cigarette in the other hand01:07 2010 footage of Jeff driving a pickup truck01:08 Jeff in the same red/black hat from recent Tres Mts. album photos01:09 Overhead pre-show Ping Pong match June 19, 2000 Llubjana – Jeff / Ed vs Mike / Matt01:10 Mike McCready holds up a rock magazine up to the camera to have a closer look01:11 Pointing to himself in a band shot, as Jeff Ament’s voice overlays01:12 “We wanted to be more like (Led) Zeppelin … ”01:13 On a tour bus, Stone is sitting, jamming on an acoustic guitar01:14 As the camera switches to Ed, singing along01:15 “..We didn’t want to be locked in to like a real specific style”01:16 Ed is shown in the center of the stage, under a spotlight in a big Fly head mask01:17 This is from the February 24, 1994 Taipei, Taiwan show where he came out in said mask.01:18 As the music builds during the verse, we see Mike.01:19 Shot from the pit, this is 2000-2003 era footage. Then Mid-song rockin, 3/17/95 Melbourne01:20 Quickly, Ed’s running towards smashed bit of Mike’s guitar01:21 Misses, slamming into monitor during “The waves came crashing like a fist to the jaw”01:22 Rapid fire shots of Matt Cameron drumming01:23 Dark head shot of Ed singing01:24 Mike soloing “Alive” in a Ramones shirt atop Ed’s shoulders, Nov 25, 1996 Portugal01:25 Fast motion view weaving through a crowd01:26 Four photographers whiz by with cameras flashing01:27 Ed holding up his hands in a futile attempt to block the flash bulbs01:28 Jeff rocking out live, the camera angle from his bass’s headstock01:29 Next we see Mike starting to smash a guitar.01:30 First from the front of the stage01:31 Then the view switches to side stage. He’s destroying a Fender telecaster to bits.01:32 Poor guitar. Sniff.01:33 Audio from Jeff’s testimony to Congress June 30, 1994, as Stone looks on01:34“Having been a fan, I didn’t want to become something I despised as a kid”01:35 Set to the music, Ed in a cape runs from the shore into water - “Arms wide open…”01:36 Ed swimming with a Godzilla head – “With the sea…”01:37 From the “Life Wasted” Video, 1:25, Jeff swimming on his back, face looking up – “as his floor”01:38 Mike shown shirtless, red flaming hair, looks to be Hawaii01:39 Mike’s shadow on his amps playing a Flying V01:40 Ed singing with fan Australia 1998, fan sings and fist pumps in time with second “Oh!”01:41 While Ed sings long “Ohhhhhh”, all CAPS white message appears over black01:42 PEARL JAM OPENS THE VAULT01:43 From behind the stage, we see Ed singing with a guitar in the rain, Europe 200001:44 Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell appears from an interview shot for the movie01:45“American rock bands they break up, but Pearl Jam managed to stay together”01:46 Travelling, Ed and Stone are side by side in a quiet moment01:47 Band is shown in 2006, pre-show, fist-pumping each other with Security Jesse nearby01:48 Fist-pumping nicely timed with Cornell saying “stay together”01:49 Stone and Jeff embrace with huge smiles01:50 Band shown on stage at the end of show waving and thanking fans01:51 Awesome triple stage-dive. Ed with his brothers, 12/31/91 RHCP set during “Yertle the Turtle”01:52 Stage-dive is well-timed with Ed singing “Flyyyyy”01:53 Message on screen: 20 YEARS OF RARE AND UNSEEN FOOTAGE01:54 Behind the stage view of tall lanky guy stage-diving with Ed signing01:55 Ed’s face in the camera01:56 Fuzzy shot from mid-floor audience view of lime-colored stage and flashing stage lights01:57 2003 footage from Chop Suey of Ed singing “Save You”, timed with him singing “Highhhh”01:58 Next three frames timed to music: Mike jump towards side of stage (1 hit)01:59 Ed smashing hole in stage, April 11, 1994 Boston Garden (2nd hit)02:00 Ed’s hands showing, already down in the hole (3rd hit)02:01 Ed scissor-kick stage jump from 1991 to the next “Flyinggg”02:02 Mike in leather, Jeff during PinkPop 1992. Mike big headbang02:03 Ed singing during Monkeywrench Radio, singing to “Whhhooole”02:04 Ed shirtless in crowd, being tossed around, Hawaii 199202:05 Same footage from the high jump earlier in the trailer, used in “Oceans” vid too02:06 Nice photos of the crowd singing along02:07 Message on the screen appears02:08 THE UNTOLD STORY02:09 “Given To Fly” hitting its crescendo02:10 “Whyyy” as its clear the song was spliced together, in the last chorus, the message continues:02:11 OF A GREAT AMERICAN ROCK BAND02:12 Female voice: “I know that they realize exactly how much they have given to us the fans”02:13 Crazy shot of fans in a pit02:14 Shot from pit at outdoor show Ed down in the pit holding the mic up for the crowd to sing02:15 Shot from pit of Ed throwing two tambourines to fans in slow motion02:16 Fan getting setlist handed to her, nearby fans expressions show envy02:17 She then holds the setlist up for the camera to see02:18 Fans taking photos from front row02:19 “…and how much and how much we really really appreciate”02:20 Fans in unified fist pump02:21 In bigger than life letters, the movie title fades in as the crowd fades out02:22 PEARL JAM02:23 TWENTY02:24 The music comes down from its zenith, and starts to simmer02:25 Credits start to roll starting with the ringleader02:26 DIRECTED BY CAMERON CROWE02:27 and some more info…02:28 Coming Fall 2011 / www.pearljam.com#pj2002:29 We know the movie will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival02:30 And premiere in select theaters September 2002:31 Credits : Vinyl Films in association with MONKEYWRENCH INC and TREMELO PRODUCTIONS02:32 present a CAMERON CROWE film “PEARL JAM TWENTY”02:33 JEFF AMENT MATT CAMERON STONE GOSSARD MIKE McCREADY EDDIE VEDDER02:34 Director of Photography NICOLE B. MARSH Edited by Chris Perkel Kevin Klauber02:35 creative producer BARBARA McDONOUGH executive producer MICHELE ANTHONY02:36 Produced by Kelly Curtis CAMERON CROWE MORGAN NEVILLE ANDY FISCHER02:37 Written and directed by CAMERON CROWE as we fade to black.

A New Jersey based programmer, John handles TFT’s programming and technical aspects. He also conceives and writes his share of TFT’s articles and sections. John’s first Pearl Jam show was at Lollapalooza on August 12, 1992.

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Two Feet Thick is Pearl Jam website created by fans Kathy Davis, Jessica Letkemann and John Reynolds. Since May 2003, Two Feet Thick has presented original articles on Pearl Jam's music and history, including the Pearl Jam Concert Chronology.